Successful completion of the Basic CompTIA A+ Certification Prep course; access to a PC running Windows 8x, and a PC running Windows 2000 or XP, so that you can learn the subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences between these two families of Windows. Although this course focuses on operating systems, you should have access to a hard drive that you can install, format, and partition, and to a couple of Plug and Play devices that you can practice installing. Because of the dangers of electro-static discharge (to the machine, not the student), we do not require you to tear apart your own primary computer (and definitely do not recommend that you format or partition your primary hard drive!).